


Christmas Spirit

by Historywriter2007



Category: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types, Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games (Movies)
Genre: Christmas Fluff, Efl!Peeta, Everlark Christmas, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-24
Updated: 2016-12-24
Packaged: 2018-09-11 17:14:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,069
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8999647
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Historywriter2007/pseuds/Historywriter2007
Summary: Primrose Everdeen is so worried about her older sister that she writes Santa Claus. Santa responds by sending Elf Peeta to help Katniss regain her Christmas spirit, but will he be able to do his job her without falling in love?





	

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote is for the Love in Panem's Yuletide in Panem's Twelve Days of Christmas, Day 11 Tree. I got the idea after watching Elf on a Shelf and needed to find a way to Everlark it. The characters are not mine. This is totally unbeated, so all mistakes are mine. Merry Christmas!

Peeta weaved his way through Santa’s workshop, he loved this time of year, everything was in full gear and today the shelf elves were getting their assignments. Over the last five years Peeta had made a name for himself, he was able to get even the grumpiest children to believe in the Christmas spirit again. The only difficult part of his job was leaving the families each year, but he was still able to check up on them— at least from a distance.  

When he got to the conference room he was shocked to find only Haymitch was in attendance. “Where’s everyone else?” Peeta questioned.

Haymitch motioned for the young elf to take a seat at the conference table. “They will be here later, you are getting a big assignment this year. Good ole Saint Nick asked for you to personally handle this, as a bonus you get to go as a human, not a shelf elf.”

Peeta couldn’t believe his ears, he had only heard stories of elves going in as humans. In fact, it was more than 30 years ago that the last elf went. These assignments were only given for the worst of the worst and most of the time centered around an adult. He always found it funny that everyone thought angels were the ones to come and try to get an adult to believe again, but most of the time it was really an elf.

“So then what’s the case?” Peeta tried to sound like it was just another case to him, but inside he was ecstatic. Haymitch looked at him and shook his head, there was no fooling the old elf. Haymitch was hundreds of years older than Peeta and had taken him under his wing when Peeta joined the Shelf Elf group. The fact that Haymitch drank too much eggnog made him the talk of the elves, but he was really good at what he did and was in charge of the whole group.  

Haymitch started, “We are going to to help the Everdeen sisters.”

“Wait we?” Peeta was shocked that Haymitch was going in, normally he stayed back at the North Pole and monitored everything.

“Yes, I will be your family heirloom Elf on a Shelf for Prim and you will work on the older sister. They lost their parents this past year and the older sister has lost all of her Christmas Spirit, Prim is hanging on to hers but is really worried about her sister.”

“How old are they?”

“Katniss is 24 and is now caring for Prim who is 10. Prim wrote a letter to the big guy begging him to make Katniss happy again.” Haymitch passed the file across the table to Peeta so he could look everything over.

Peeta was confused, there are thousands of cases like that every year, what made these too so important that Santa would send both of them and make Peeta human. He looked through his own backstory, he was going to be a baker who lost his family as well. As for the Everdeens, both parents were killed in a car accident and now Katniss was Prim’s sole guardian. It looked like she had a good job and they were fine with money, but the pictures showed the strain on the young woman. Peeta was captivated by her gray eyes and how the shone with life in the first set of pictures, as the year went on they became dull. His heart hurt to see such pain in her and he wanted nothing more than to get to her and start his mission.  

———

Katniss couldn’t believe how strong her sister was as she pulled her along the crowded streets. She turned her head causing her two blonde braids to hit her in the face. She only paused a moment before begging Katniss to hurry along. They were on their way to the tree lighting ceremony in the city center, it was one of the traditions Katniss was trying to maintain for Prim even though she would rather curl into a ball and forget the whole holiday.  By the time they arrived the center is filled to the max, and the sisters struggled to see over the mass of people in front of them.

The gentle tap on Katniss’s shoulder caused her to jump, she spun around to find the source of the tapping. It was a man with wavy blond hair, broad shoulders, a warm smile and the brightest blue eyes she had ever seen.

“You look like you’re having a hard time seeing. I could lift her onto my shoulders so at least she can see.”

Katniss stared at the man with disbelief then gave him her signature scowl, although her friends called it her resting bitch face. “No, it’s fine.”

The man smiled at her again and it filled her with an expected warmth. She couldn’t believe how much his smile was like her dad’s.  “Are you sure, it’s not a big deal. She looks like she weighs about 50 pounds, and I know you can’t see much from back here.”

Katniss crossed her arms, “Why would you want to help, you don’t even know us? Are you some kidnapper or something?”

The man laughed, but it just pissed Katniss off more. She was ready to grab Prim’s hand and run when she saw him extend his towards her first. “I’m sorry, I really do just want to help but I get it we don’t know each other. I’m Peeta Mellark, I just moved to the city and opened a bakery along the riverfront. And you are?”

She took his hand, his large one enveloped her much smaller hand and she could feel the warmth radiating from his body. “I’m Katniss, this is my sister Prim.”

Peeta kept smiling as he leaned in closer to Katniss, “Okay, so here it is the important question. What is your favorite color?”

Katniss was taken back by the question, “Color? What does that have to do with anything?”

“Just answer. I’ll go first, mine is orange.”

Katniss crinkled her nose, “Like Mayor Effie’s hair?”

At this Peeta chuckled again and Katniss realized how much she liked his laugh. “No, more muted. Like the sunset.”

She finally answered, “Green, like the forest.”

“So now that we have the deep stuff out of the way, can I please help your sister?” After getting a nod from Katniss Peeta leaned down to the smaller girl, “How would you like to get on my shoulders and see a little better?” After he got an enthusiastic nod he lifted her onto his shoulders. They all watched Mayor Trinket give a speech and with the push of a button the city center lit up.

After the crowds started to dissipate Peeta spoke again to Katniss, “You should come by the bakery, we have hot chocolate and a great view of the boats in the harbor. They’re all lit up for Christmas.”  

Before Katniss could answer Prim looked at her, “Please Katniss, I want to see the boats.” Since Katniss wouldn’t dare deny Prim anything she nodded and they headed towards the harbor.

Although the bakery was closed the two employees Santa had sent were still there preparing for the next day. Peeta introduced them to the Everdeen sisters and got three cups of hot chocolate along with a plate of cheese buns before leading the sisters to the back patio.

Prim was enchanted by the view, while Katniss and Peeta talked. They discussed her parents and just how busy she was trying to work and figure out what to do with Prim even though she felt like a failure. Katniss told Peeta she wanted to give Prim the type of Christmas she was used to, but she just wasn’t feeling the spirit anymore. He just listened, giving her reassurance that she was doing her best and things would get better.

Katniss looked down and realized it was past Prim’s bedtime. “We need to go, I can’t believe we talked this long.”

“Can I see you again?” Peeta questioned.

“I don’t know, I’m really busy. Maybe we’ll see each other around.”

“Wait, I have something for you.” Peeta ran into the house grabbing Haymitch, he was shocked how much better he looked as an elf on a shelf, he looked much younger now. Peeta walked out on the patio and presented it to Prim. “Here, he’s been in my family forever, but I think you could use him. This is Haymitch, he’s an Elf on a Shelf and will look after you and Katniss until Christmas. Once you set him in your house say his name out loud and he will get his magic. Now Prim this is the important part after you do this don’t touch him. He will report back to Santa every night and move before you wake up.”

Katniss shook her head, taking the elf from her sister and holding it back out to Peeta. “We can’t take your elf.”

Peeta placed his hand on hers, “please I don’t need him anymore and after everything I think he is better off with Prim.”

She took a deep breath before she relented and tucked the old elf in her purse. With a smile she grabbed Prim’s hand and walked through the deck doors to the side street leaving Peeta behind. It was for the best, she told herself, he was too good for her anyway.

As luck would have it Peeta’s had Haymitch and his own magic to help him find Katniss everywhere, the bank, grocery store, and even the post office. After questioning if he really was a stalker she finally relented in having lunch with him. She again found it oddly comforting being around him and would talk more than she had with anyone else besides Prim. He just drew it out of her, at times she almost felt like he was some kind of angel that was there to help her. But that was just from movies. Eventually they spoke nearly every day and made plans for Christmas Eve. It was family tradition to watch a Christmas movie together, this year she was going to let Prim watch _Elf_ for the first time. Peeta eagerly agreed to attend and was told to bring cheese buns.

Katniss had the day off from work and took extra time getting everything ready, even Prim noticed the change in her sister. For the first time since their parent's deaths Katniss was excited for Christmas, she even caught her sister singing carols in the shower this morning. When the coast was clear she went to speak with Haymitch, Peeta did tell her he had the ear of Santa. “My sister has her Christmas spirit back. I think it is mainly because of Peeta, we both love him and what he does to help us. I hope he sticks around for awhile, I think my sister really likes him.” She looked around again before leaning in closer, “I think she may even love him.” The young girl bounced away giving Haymitch the time to sigh, he was afraid this would happen again and now he knows he was right.

Peeta walked up to the door of the Katniss’ apartment, his hands were sweaty and he was nervous. These were not feelings he was used to, elves to have these feelings. He knocked on the door and when Katniss appeared it actually took his breath away. She was wearing a long green sweater with leggings, her hair was down and her gray eyes were full of life.

Prim placed herself between Peeta and Katniss as they watched the movie, a bowl of popcorn on her lap. As the movie continued Katniss found herself looking more at Peeta than the television, and Peeta was the same. They shared shy smiles and sideways glances until Prim fell asleep against Peeta’s shoulder. He offered to carry the girl, already in her new Christmas PJ’s to her bedroom. The two tucked her in before retreating back to the family room, Peeta readied himself to leave Katniss for the last time. He wondered what he should say but before he could grab his coat he felt her small hand on his arm. She gave him a shy smile before rising on her toes to place a light kiss on his lips. Peeta felt like electricity was flowing through his body, when she pulled back she looked nervous so he did the only thing he could think of, he pulled her back to him and kissed her again. Peeta knew this was trouble, but he couldn’t stop. The odd feelings were growing in him, and he realized he liked the feeling. Breathlessly they separated and stared at each other, not sure what to do next.

“Do you want to stay for a bit? We could watch another movie.” Katniss fiddled with her hair as she spoke to him and it melted his heart even more. He just nodded as she led him back to her bedroom. “It’ll be better if we watch something in here, it’s further from Prim’s room. As long as you’re okay with it.”

Peeta looked around her bedroom, the only option was to lay next to each other on the bed. He stiffened a bit, but he didn’t want to leave. She laid on her bed on top of the dark green comforter and started flipping through channels as Peeta removed his shoes and tried to settle in next to her. When she found _A Christmas Story_ she laughed, “I don’t think I’ve ever watched this the whole way through, I mean I know I’ve seen all of it, just not at once.” The sound of her laugh relaxed Peeta a bit more, but when she curled into him he felt his whole body finally calm down. They didn’t make it through the movie once before they were both sleeping.

Peeta awoke to a noise in the family room, he suddenly realized he what time it was and that Santa would be there any moment to send him back. He slowly got out of bed, then looked back at Katniss’ sleeping form. She was so beautiful and he hoped she found someone that could stay and make her happy, she deserved it.

Haymitch was now a full sized human and was placing the gifts Katniss had purchased under the tree. Peeta sat on the couch and held his head in his hands, he looked up when he heard the old elf start talking. “You can tell her that you put them out when she gets up in the morning.”

“And how am I supposed to do that? I’m going back tonight with you.”

Haymitch sat next to Peeta on the couch and took a deep breath. “I’m going to tell you a story and you better listen carefully. About 30 years ago two elves were sent to help two different women. The elves were best friends so they were excited that they got to do this together. The thing is that both of the elves ended up falling in love, just like you did.” Peeta tried to interrupt, but Haymitch stopped him with a knowing glare. “On Christmas Eve Santa gave both of them the choice to stay or go back. One stayed, he married the woman and had two beautiful girls. He had a wonderful life until he was killed in an accident. You see when you stay you become human, no more magic or the promise of a long life. You also forget everything about being an elf, your background story becomes your past.”

Peeta knew the answer to his question before he asked. “The elf was Katniss’ father right?” Haymitch nodded, it now made sense as to why Santa was so worried about Katniss. “And the other elf?”

“He decided to go back, he checked in on the woman he loved from a distance. Eventually Effie married a nice man and had children too, she’s happy now. She even got her dream job as Mayor of this town. I, on the other hand, drink too much eggnog and think about her all the time. So Peeta you can ask Santa to grant your wish.”

“I’m an elf I thought I didn’t get Christmas wishes,” Peeta questioned.

“No you just never used them, the way I see it you have 128 years of pent up Christmas wishes and that is a lot of power.”

A third voice filled the room. “So Peeta what is your decision?”

Santa was staring right at the elf, Peeta looked to Haymitch then wistfully back where he left a sleeping Katniss. He faced Santa and gave him his answer.

Katniss woke up facing the wall, light was starting to filter into her room. She remembered Peeta being there the night before, she held her breath as she turned under the covers. She let out her breath when she saw the familiar mop of curly blond hair, he must have taken his red sweater off in the middle of the night and was now only in a white t-shirt. She smiled at him before nudging her nose into his neck. He grumbled a bit in his sleep and slowly opened his bright blue eyes and turned to see Katniss staring at him. He pulled her closer to her and kissed her gently, “good morning beautiful.”

“Morning. I think I could get used to waking up like this.”

“Me too, do you think Santa brought you what you wanted this year?” Peeta asked.

“I know he did, it’s right here.” Katniss put her small hand over Peeta’s heart and kissed him again. This kiss wasn’t like the others, it felt different like there was nothing holding them back for once.

Katniss was getting out of bed, knowing Prim would be up soon. Peeta sat up and put his sweater back on, then shook his head like he was trying to clear it.

“Everything alright?” Katniss questioned.

“Yea, I just remembered my dream I was in the North Pole and had to deal with a grumpy old elf.  I don’t think we should watch _Elf_ before bed anymore.” Katniss laughed and glanced back as she sauntered from the room. An odd thought was in his head before he could stop it— he had made the right choice.


End file.
